Magic Bus

More and more cities are tackling one of the biggest bus challenges -- how to get them to run faster -- using Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The concept, which inspired Boston's Silver Line route, is to run buses like a light rail, with reliable schedules, a pleasant environment, and techniques, such as dedicated bus lanes, that help them avoid backups.

The reigning champion of BRT is Curitiba, a city in southern Brazil that has pushed bus transport to the extremes of performance. Thirty years ago, Curitiba's planners set forth the ground rules for the city: Car traffic would be actively discouraged; instead, the city's commuters would rely on a multi-modal fleet of bus routes that would take precedence on all streets.

Today, 70 percent of Curitiba's estimated 1.5 million commuters take one of five levels of bus service (local, express, etc.) to work. When they board, they enter through a bus stop that's a large horizontal cylinder. They pay their fares at the stop to eliminate boarding snags. Some rush hour buses appear at 90-second intervals. Air pollution in Curitiba is negligible, as is traffic congestion. The buses are operated by 10 private contractors, all of which make a profit.

Of course the streets of old cities cannot be radically reconfigured, but it's still possible to apply parts of the model. Inaugurated in 2002, the Silver Line has distinct station names and attractive, substantial bus shelters that feature neighborhood maps, as well as embedded displays on local history. The stops have displays with the estimated time of the next bus.

Justin, Peters, a frequent contributor to Salte, is the editor of Polite (politemag.com). He lives in Jamaica Plain.